Things Left Unsaid
by Bring Me Chili Fries
Summary: Ben and Julie clear the air about their relationship.


**Note: This takes place a week after Rules of Engagement.**

 _*Ding-dong*_

Julie ran towards her front door and opened it to find Ben standing behind it, rubbing the back of his neck. "Is uh... is anyone else home?" Julie's eyes widened in shock. Ben was the last person she would expect to come visit her considering they had recently broken up. Did he come here to get back together? Did he forget that they broke up? She had so many questions.

Ben cleared his throat. "Uh, Julie?" Julie shook her head, breaking herself from her self-induced trance. "No, no. Just me and Ship. Come in." She stepped aside and gestured towards the sofa. Ben sat down as Julie closed the door.

Julie walked towards the coffee table by the sofa and stood opposite him. "Can I get you something? Coffee? Some cookies, maybe?" Ben waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, I'm good." He patted the seat to his left, motioning for her to sit there.

She obeyed, and the two sat in silence for a few seconds before Ben spoke up. "How are you? How are things with Hervé?" Julie crossed her arms. "Ben, I know you didn't come all the way here just to ask me that." He smiled awkwardly before sighing.

"You're right, I didn't. I came here to... apologize." Julie raised an eyebrow, surprised. Considering how big his ego had gotten lately, she would've never expected him to apologize for anything, but she kept quiet, listening intently.

"After I fully realized that we were done, I started thinking about our relationship and all the stuff I did, and I understand why we broke up. Don't get me wrong, things were great at first, but then I let my fame get to my head. I wasn't being a good boyfriend, much less a good person. I ditched you during your tennis match to watch a movie, I kept flirting with other girls and and whenever we _were_ spending time together, we were always arguing. Not to mention the countless times that I ignored you when you tried to talk to me."

He hung his head and laced his fingers together. "Which was the reason you thought I dumped you in the first place." He slowly lifted his head to lock eyes with Julie. "I know I didn't have a good way of showing it, but there was a time that I thought you were gonna be 'the one', you know. I feel horrible that I never did much to make sure we would survive all the fights and stuff. I don't want to get back together, for your sake. I don't think I deserve to be with you. It's been a long time coming, but... I'm really sorry that you had to waste all that time on me."

"Hey, no, our time together wasn't a waste! We had our problems, but we had a lot of fun, didn't we?" Julie smiled at him and he half-smiled back. "Yeah." She averted his gaze. "I liked you a lot. If I'm being honest, I still do."

Ben's eyes widened. "You do?" Julie nodded, looking at him in the eye. "But we shouldn't get back together, not just because I want to see how things go with Hervé, but also because I don't know if we'll ever be able to make it work. We tried once and look what happened." She paused for a while.

"I won't deny that you did some stuff that I didn't like, but I wasn't completely faultless, either. I kept getting frustrated whenever we fought because I didn't want to accept that we were getting worse. I know I was always mad that you kept running off on missions, but I never stopped to think that I signed up for that when we started dating and I really should've been more understanding and less selfish. I always wanted you to see things from my point of view, but I hardly ever checked up on you to see if you were doing okay or if you could handle all the hero-ing. I guess I was so fixated on the idea of a perfect relationship that I didn't put much effort into working through our imperfections. That's why I figured it was time to call it quits when you 'dumped' me."

She put her right hand on Ben's. "What I'm trying to say is I'm sorry, too." Ben chuckled lightly. "I guess we were both problematic, huh?" Julie laughed. "I guess so. Listen, I meant what I said the other day."

"About not liking Mr. Smoothy?", Ben asked. Julie rolled her eyes, playfully punching him in the shoulder. "No, I meant I still want us to be friends. I don't want us to be awkward around each other. Just because we're not dating anymore doesn't mean we can't talk or hang out with each other. We've been through a lot, and I don't see why we can't do the same as friends."

Ben grinned. "Yeah, I'd like that." He paused for a few seconds. "If you need anything from me, anything at all, let me know, okay?"

"Likewise." She inched closer towards him and hugged him. After a few seconds of uncertainty, Ben wrapped his arms around her. "I hope everything goes well with you and Hervé. I don't like the guy, but you're happy and that's all that matters."

Ben and Julie both slowly pulled away from the hug. "Thanks, Ben. What about you and Ester, though?" Ben rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I'm not even sure if we're actually dating yet, but I'll take things slow."

"Is everything else alright?", she asked inquisitively. "Well, I guess I've been missing Gwen and Kevin a lot, _and_ there's this alien huntsman after me, but it could be worse."

"Always the optimist, huh?", Julie asked rhetorically, raising an eyebrow. "It's the only way I can survive.", he smiled, but Julie knew he wasn't as happy on the inside as he was letting on. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Things will work out fine."

Ben opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by a loud beeping noise. He held up his left arm to his face, and a familar voice came through the Omnitrix. "Ben, Thunderpig is attempting to draw you out at Burger Shack! I am trying to hold him off, but I do not know how long I can do so!"

Julie retracted her hand from Ben's shoulder as he stood up, bringing his mouth closer to the Omnitrix. "Sorry, Rook. There was something I had to do. I'll be there."

"Alright." The Omnitrix produced another beep, ending the call. Ben looked at Julie, still sitting down. "Sorry, Julie. Duty calls.", he said. "Don't worry about it.", she replied as she waved her hand.

Ben ran towards the door and opened it, turning his head to face Julie. "To be continued?" "How about tonight at 8, Burger Shack? Assuming it isn't destroyed in your battle, I mean.", Julie suggested. Ben gave her a thumbs-up and ran out the door, closing it behind him.

Julie stayed put, staring at nothing in particular in front of her as she began to process the events of the last few minutes. On one hand, she was glad that they finally managed to clear the air so that they could remain friends. On the other, she still wanted to give their relationship another shot, because she still had a feelings for him and she didn't want to let go of something that she'd been invested in for over a year.

She was going to miss seeing him at her tennis matches. She was going to miss helping him out with homework. She was going to miss going to the movies with him. Most of all, she was going to miss his company.

And then it hit her.

She could still have all of those things. She could still be close to Ben without having to date him. He'd still be able to show up to her tennis matches. She could still help him out with homework. She could still go to the movies with him. The only thing that would be different this time around is that they wouldn't be a couple. In a way, she liked it better like that, though she would have to get used to being in a platonic relationship with Ben. She enjoyed being romantically involved with him, but she believed that, in the long run, they were both better off as close friends since they wouldn't have to argue as often as they used to when they were dating.

Julie let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as she blinked to snap herself back to reality. She smiled to herself, relieved that she could finally properly move on. At long last, a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders and she felt much better.

She reached for the TV remote and turned the TV on. As if by fate, the TV was set to Channel 3, airing a news show she saw more often than she liked to admit; The Will Harangue Nation. The eponymous reporter's voice boomed. "This just in, an alien criminal calling himself Thunderpig is in a heated battle with Bellwood's own poster terrorist, Ben 10!" News footage of Ben, as Fasttrack, and Rook fighting Thunderpig was shown."

Julie turned the TV off. An idea developed in her head. "Ship, come here boy!", she whistled. Her pet Galvanic Mechamorph bounced happily into the living room towards Julie, exclaiming "Ship ship!". He wagged his tail excitedly, awaiting his next command. "Battle Mode." Ship wrapped himself around Julie's legs, slowly moving up her body as a battle suit with Galvanic Mechamorph patterns formed around her body. Julie clenched and unclenched her fists before bolting for the door.

"Looks like I'll be meeting Ben earlier than I thought."


End file.
